


leaf it to me

by fridgefish



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: (Kindof) - Freeform, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute, me: how can i name all the plants i own in a fic, plant nursery au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23062528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fridgefish/pseuds/fridgefish
Summary: “Danton?” Sean said, pulling him from his thoughts. Danton liked the way he said his name- most people rushed through it.Dan’n.But Sean always took his time. “Hey, Danton, we’ve got to run but I’ll be back around first thing next week, alright?”“That sounds great,” Danton said, and he knew his excitement at that prospect was written all over his face. “I’ll look forward to it.”“Okay,” Sean was flushed. “Me too.”
Relationships: Danton Heinen/Sean Kuraly
Comments: 8
Kudos: 50





	leaf it to me

Danton didn’t look up at the sound of the bell on the door jingling. He was halfway up to his arms in fresh soil. The sword ferns had overgrown their containers and he should’ve repotted them a week ago, but that was just how it went. 

“Hello,” he called out. “Let me know if I can help you with anything.” 

“Thank you,” replied a young man’s voice. 

He looked up then. Most of his customers at the Garden Center were elderly women. They were sweet, and they all said that he reminded them of their grandson. This was definitely not Dolores. 

Danton wiped his hands off with haste and peered around the corner to find the blond-haired customer, who turned to him with a grin. He was handsome, tall with a strong chin. He was pushing a stroller, murmuring to it as they made their way around the table stacked with succulents. 

He felt his face heat. A handsome guy being cute with a little kid, now that was attractive. He was only human, okay?

“Actually-” the guy said, faltering. “I’m looking for a-” He waved his hands around vaguely. 

Danton gave what he hoped was an encouraging nod. 

“-Like a houseplant?” he finally finished. “One that doesn’t need a lot. I don’t really know how to garden, or whatever.” 

“Okay, sure,” he said. That, he could certainly do. “Is there a particular size you’re looking for?”

“Uhm,” he mumbled, pushing the stroller back around the table. “Medium?”

Danton could see inside the stroller now, down at a little girl with curly hair. She couldn’t have been older than three. He glanced back up at his customer who seemed on the younger side to be a dad, but lots of people were these days, he supposed. Kids made him nervous.

“So over here we have some bromeliads,” he said, walking towards the other end of the room where the colorful plants were placed. Danton could tell immediately by his face that this wasn’t what he was looking for. They did look intimidating, he supposed. “We also have all different kinds of cacti, which are pretty easy to care for in terms of like, not having to water them very often,” he noted, as they walked by the variety of cacti stacked on the windowsill. 

“Probably no on the cactus,” his customer replied. “Small hands, you know,” he said, glancing down at the little girl. 

“Right, right.” Danton nodded. Damn, he should’ve thought about that. 

They pushed through the plastic sheet strips that separated the main room from the next. “I just repotted all of these,” Danton said, pointing at the bright green and yellow plants stacked at various heights next to a window. The shoots were tall and rigid, pointed like a sword at the top. 

“Oh, these are kinda cool.” 

Danton smiled to himself. “This is the sansevieria trifasciata. Some people call it mother-in-law’s tongue, or the snake plant.” 

“Snake!” said the little girl. 

“Yeah, that’s right!” his customer said, beaming. He turned to Danton. “I’m Sean, by the way,” he said, “and that’s Amelia.” 

“I’m Danton.” He gave a small wave at the kid. “It’s nice to meet you,” Danton said, and he meant it. “We have a few different sizes of this particular plant,” he said, watching with amusement as Sean started to analyze each one. “I think the six inch pot might be close to what you’re looking for? Actually… hang on-” he remembered he’d set aside one earlier. He side-stepped by them, which made Amelia make some babbling noises and kick her feet. Danton almost couldn’t bear to look up at Sean as he tiptoed past. 

“I have this six inch one,” he said as he returned, showing Sean the plant in his arms. “It produced some buds which is actually pretty rare for the sansevierias?” He wasn’t sure why he posed it as a question. “Also, the snake plant needs very little water. It’s gonna be best if you basically forget about it. Just put it in a sunny window and you’re good to go.” 

“Oh man. This is like, perfect.” Sean said, taking the plant from Danton’s arms. “The flower thing on it is dope.” 

“Yeah, the stalk will bear flowers for you for a few weeks.” 

Sean was so genuinely excited about his plant. “Will it be okay in this container, do you think?” He lifted the plant upwards, peering at the bottom of the plastic container that it was housed in. 

Danton hummed. “You’ll probably want to put it in a pot, I’d say.” He watched as Sean bent down to let Amelia touch the leaves of the plant he was still clutching. 

“Can I just… do that here?” He glanced around the store. “Would you mind?” 

Would he mind? God, he wouldn’t mind. Sean kept smiling at him with warmth, and this close he smelled good like some kind of nice cologne, and he really, really needed to stop this train of thought. “It’s no problem,” is what he decided on saying. 

Sean followed close behind as Danton led him into his workroom, which was where he kept some extra tools and a huge sink. “This place is so nice,” Sean kept saying. “I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”

“Yeah?” Danton said as he cleared off his workspace. “Well, thank you. We try to keep a good selection.” He felt awkward without much else to say. 

Wait. Shit. The pot. 

“Oh. Uh. Did you have a specific color pot you wanted, or?” 

“...Color?” Sean asked, as though the idea of colored pots was novel to him.

“Or, I mean, we could go with the classic clay pot,” Danton reached underneath the workbench and grabbed a plain terra cotta pot. “This one just needs a little rinse.” 

“Yeah, that’s perfect!” Sean said, taking the pot to run it under the water in the sink. “The classic look.” He brought it back to the workbench where Danton was about to pull the plant out of its plastic pot. “Wait, is it okay if I do that part?” 

Danton took a step back. “Of course, yeah.” 

Sean went right for it, pushing his fingers into the soil on either side as Danton instructed him from over his shoulder. He did not notice that Sean wasn’t wearing a ring, because why would he notice something like that? 

“See how the roots had become really tight like that? It was getting close to becoming root bound. So loosen it up at the bottom there, you won’t hurt it,” he nodded as Sean followed his directions in earnest. “Then we can put it down right here.” He parted the fresh soil in the new pot for Sean so he could deposit the plant in the center. The pot wasn’t very big, and their hands brushed as Sean worked the plant down into the new earth. “There you go,” Danton said, a little flustered by this sudden closeness. 

“It’s cool how the roots are orange,” Sean noted as he settled the plant down and gently moved soil over the top to level it out. It was clear that he’d never worked with plants before- his movements erred on the side of overly cautious, but that endeared him to Danton.

Well. That was all finished. He absolutely could not drag this interaction out any longer. At least this had made his morning more pleasant. 

“How much is this gonna set me back?” Sean asked, sounding amused as he watched Danton snag a saucer for the plant as he was walking back to the front of the store. His arms were very full. 

“Oh.” Danton had completely forgotten about _selling_ the plant. He was about to put it in Sean’s car and cry as he drove away. Well, maybe not cry. “Uh… Does fifteen sound fair to you?” 

“Fifteen dollars?”

No, fifteen alligators. “Yeah, that okay?”

Sean was smiling now as he reached for his wallet. “That doesn’t feel like very much, for the plant and the new pot and your help.” 

“We’re having a sale,” he lied. 

“Are you really?” Sean laughed. He reached into a backpack hanging off of the back of the stroller and pulled out a juice bottle that he handed to Amelia before counting out his money.

“Yeah, thirty percent off,” Danton looked up from behind the counter as he took the bills from Sean’s hand. He was still laughing.

Amelia started babbling again and Sean rocked her stroller back and forth. “Would you mind helping me take it out to my car?” 

“Sure,” Danton lifted the plant to his chest. “Just water it a bit when you get it home, then wait till the soil is dry before you water it again,” he noted as he stepped through the door that Sean held for him. 

He deposited the plant in the front seat of Sean’s car without much trouble.

“Is there any charge for this door-to-door service?” Sean asked with an amused smile as he watched Danton buckle the plant in.

“A hundred dollars,” he teased gently. 

Sean grinned even though it was a stupid joke. “You’ll have to put me on a payment plan, then.” 

There wasn’t much more he could say. Danton tugged on his hair out of nervous habit. “Guess you’re all set,” he sighed.

Sean nodded, looking down at the plant in the car, then over at Amelia. “Well, what have you got around back? Other outside plants and stuff?”

“Yeah, outdoor plants and bigger pots and that kind of thing. We grow most all of our own plants here, back out in greenhouses.”

Sean put his hands in his pockets and looked expectant.

“I could show you around, if you want?” Danton said, hopeful.

The back part of the nursery was all gravel, so Sean picked Amelia up out of her stroller and carried her on his hip as they started walking around the building. There were rows upon rows of different larger plants and small trees. The blueberry plants were looking a bit weak, so Danton skipped right over those and started with the foxglove instead.

Sean stopped at every plant and let Amelia touch the leaves or the flowers, but reminded her to be gentle with each one. Danton’s favorite part of the whole place was the koi pond. There was a tree that had been shaped with care over the years that shaded it, and a bench beside the pond where he often sat when business was slow.

“No way. This is so cool,” Sean marveled, looking up at the freshly pruned tree. “Has this always been here?”

Danton wasn’t sure if he was talking about the pond or the tree. “Well, I’ve been working here for almost four years, and it’s been here as long as I have.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you for showing me all this. It’s so nice here.”

“You’re welcome back anytime,” Danton told him.

“Well, we’ll get out of your hair,” Sean said good-naturedly. “Amelia, say bye.” 

Amelia waved clumsily in his direction. “Bye!” 

Danton couldn’t help but smile to himself until he heard the crunch of the gravel outside as they drove away. 

The rest of the day passed without event. He sold two of the newly repotted ferns for someone’s front porch, which was a good feeling, he supposed. Danton liked to think about the different people who came in the store, in the sense that they all had their own individual lives and plants that he’d cared for who now hopefully lived on in different happy homes. With most of his more chatty regulars, he could easily piece together a portrait of their lives. A husband: Bill; a home: off Frontage Road; friends: who came over for dinner and admired the amaryllis.

The idea of Sean and little Amelia stayed in his mind all evening. It was easy to imagine them returning to a warm home, where everything was bathed in a warm golden light. 

He closed up the shop and drove home, feeling only slightly more lonely than usual.

✿✿✿

Sean and Amelia showed up again a week and a day later. He came in the door this time holding Amelia by the hand. “Danton!” he shouted, like he was reuniting with a long-lost friend. “I was hoping you’d be here!”

Danton felt himself flush. Jeez. “I’m here unless we’re closed,” he said, not willing to let Sean see how pleased he was to see him as well.

Sean laughed like he’d said something hilarious. Ugh. “Listen, man, me and Amelia really have enjoyed that snake plant we got.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He had the sudden realization that he was still wearing his apron from earlier. This was not his best look. “Is everything okay with it?”

“Yep,” Sean said, hoisting Amelia up to sit on the counter so that she was closer to eye level with them. “We’re back for another plant. I was thinking one that we could water more often? Cause that was kinda fun. Well I mean, Amelia thought that was fun. But still nothing too hard to keep alive.”

He was so cute it was unfair. “Most inside plants you’re not going to want to douse with water, necessarily, because they’re in a container.”

“That makes sense,” Sean nodded, looking disappointed.

“But uh…” he glanced around the room. He’d just gotten some in, he thought- “Okay, this is called a Brazil plant? I have it in a hanging planter now because it’s a vine, so it’ll hang down as it grows.” He reached up and unhooked the planter from where it was hanging. “You won’t water this one… _every_ day, but it really likes a good misting, which could be fun for-”

“Oh, she would really like that.” Sean interrupted, reaching for the plant. He looked it over, lifting up one of the vines and ran his thumb across the yellow stripe in the center of the leaf. Watching the movements of his hands made Danton’s heart flip-flop. 

“Whaddya think, buddy? This one look cool?” Amelia face-planted into Sean’s chest from where she was perched on the counter. “Okay, yeah that’s good,” Sean spoke for her.

Danton finished ringing him up in relative silence, wishing that he had something interesting to say or a question he could ask without seeming creepy.

“How long have you been in this area?” Sean asked him, just as he was resigned to telling him goodbye.

“Uh. About four years now.” There was a story there he wasn’t particularly inclined to get into. “You?”

“I’ve been here since fall of last year. I’m actually the assistant manager at Wagner’s Hardware? But I’m on leave for another week.” Sean chewed on his lip and smoothed out some of Amelia’s curls. She was a pretty quiet kid, from what little Danton knew about kids. Also, it was pretty weird that Sean would be on leave in the middle of the year, but that wasn’t something he felt like he could ask about, either.

“If I need hardware, I know who to call,” Danton replied, feeling dumb.

“Actually, yeah,” Sean exclaimed, opening his wallet again. “Here’s my card, it’s got my number on it, see-” He pointed to where his phone number was printed across the bottom. The card was bent and had the particular coloration of a piece of paper that had gotten wet then dried out again. “So like, if you ever need anything, for the store or anything, that’s my cell.”

Was he… trying to give him his phone number? Surely not. This was like a business thing. “Thank you,” Danton said, and made sure Sean saw him put it into his own wallet. “I don’t… have a card, but you know. Like I said, I’m here unless we’re closed.”

Sean _giggled_. Danton needed him to get out of the store before he personally embarrassed himself. He considered himself to be boring and there was really no reason for Sean to be humoring him except for, like, a very cruel form of torture.

Sean wasn’t in a hurry to leave, though. He was watching Amelia mimic his gentle investigation of the Brazil vine like she was the most fascinating thing in the world. All three of them stood in silence for a moment longer before Danton thought he really ought to say something.

“Would Amelia like to see the fish pond again?” Danton asked, trying to be unassuming.

She turned to him and nodded.

“Okay,” he smiled. He motioned for them to follow him as he led the way out of the back door. Amelia remembered the way to the pond once she saw the rows of shrubs, and broke free from Sean’s hand to hurry towards the fish. He didn’t seem too bothered by her running away. 

“You must have the best job in the world,” Sean sighed, looking around at the rows of outdoor plants with a deep breath, like he wanted to breathe it all in. “To work here, and be here, with all this.” 

Danton… couldn’t agree less. His job was fine, it was fine. He did like the plants, most of them. But seriously, had this guy never been to a plant nursery before? Or like… a botanical garden, even? Now _that_ would be the best job in the world, working at one of those places.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I mean. It can be kinda boring sometimes. Same stuff everyday.” 

Sean shrugged. “I guess I get that. I feel like you’d get some interesting customers, though.” 

“What, you get a lot of interesting customers at the hardware store?” Danton laughed. To be fair, Sean _was_ an “interesting customer”, but in a different kind of way than usual. 

“Nah, mostly just contractors that are pissed and tired and don’t feel like talking to some guy behind a counter.” He dragged his foot in the gravel. “But I’m still ready to go back, I guess.”

Danton looked at him, mind going blank. He guessed they were sharing now, which… good, but what was he supposed to say? Hey, wanna know my favorite color? 

“It’s been nice though,” Sean continued, like Danton’s silence didn’t bother him one bit, “I haven’t missed a hockey game in two weeks. That’s been really nice. I like sports,” he said, leaning to keep his eyes on Amelia as she walked around the pond, “Keeps your mind off things. I’ve been trying to get Amelia to start watching a little bit too, but mostly she likes to say ‘Tuukka’ and ‘Pasta.” 

Danton couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m a Bruins fan too,” he mumbled. The word ‘fan’ was probably an understatement, but Sean didn’t need to know that yet. 

“Oh yeah?” Sean exclaimed, with the excitement of someone who’d just found a kidney donor. “Hell yeah, I knew I liked you.” 

They talked sports for the rest of Sean’s visit, eventually sitting next to each other on a bench near the pond. Their final determination: this was definitely the Bruins’ year, and Torey Krug was the most underrated defender in the league. 

Amelia had been playing in the dirt while they were chatting, but after a while she wandered back and laid her head on Sean’s lap. 

“Alright,” he said, patting her gently. “Naptime, huh?” He turned to Danton with a shrug. “Better get her in the car seat before she passes out. I’ll see you later though, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Danton said, and because he was feeling brave- “Come by on Friday after the game tomorrow, I need someone to rant with.” 

“Hey.” Sean winked. “You got it.”

✿✿✿

Danton went home that night to warm up leftovers for dinner. He let himself imagine just about every permutation of events that could happen should Sean come back at the end of the week, then forced himself to believe that he wouldn’t.

✿✿✿

Sean came back on Friday.

“Danton,” he loudly whispered as he tiptoed in the door. Amelia was asleep, her soft cheek squished against Sean’s shoulder. “She passed out on the way back from the park. We had a really intense game of tag,” he said with a smile.

Danton set down his watering can beside the peace lilies he’d been taking care of and wiped his hands briskly on a hand towel he had in his apron. “Hey Sean,” he half-whispered, hoping he looked decent and also hoping he wasn’t too visibly enthused. On the inside, he felt like he could run a marathon. He’d thought up at least fifty different ways this conversation could have gone, but now that Sean was really here just to talk to him, he lost track of what would’ve been the right thing to say.

Sean plopped down in one of the display lawn chairs with no preamble. “How about that overtime winner, huh?” 

“She’s asleep?” Danton asked, eyebrows raised.

“Uh-huh.” Sean rubbed Amelia’s back softly, and she didn’t stir. “Oh yeah, she’s out.” 

“Holy _shit_ , what a game!” 

Sean had to hold in his laughter. Danton knew he wasn’t expecting him to say that.

They whisper-shouted about the game for approximately fifteen minutes until a regular customer wandered into the store. Danton held back the urge to roll his eyes at the interruption.  
Danton jumped up from where he’d slumped down onto a stool after getting lost in conversation. “How can I help you?” He smoothed the front of his apron on instinct.

“Oh, I’m just looking for-” The middle-aged woman stopped mid sentence when she saw Amelia slowly waking up in Sean’s arms. “Well, hello there! Aren’t you cute,” she cooed.

Amelia buried her head back into Sean’s neck when she realized she was the center of attention. 

“How old is she?” the woman asked Sean.

Danton could tell that Sean didn’t want to talk to this random lady. He clutched Amelia tighter to his chest, almost protectively. “She’s two,” he replied neutrally.

“Is there anything I can help you with today?” Danton tried again. Sean shot him a thankful look as he led the lady away to look at the pansies. 

He stayed in the lawn chair with Amelia until Danton was though ringing the lady up and told her to come again soon as she left with a pleasant look on her face. 

“I know it’s just because kids are cute, but I don’t really like talking to random people about Amelia,” Sean said, as if they were in the middle of a conversation. Danton nodded like he understood as he took his place back on the stool by the front counter. 

They shared a moment of silence, Sean looking at Amelia’s sleepy face as she pulled at the chain around his neck, and Danton looking at Sean. It almost scared him how much he’d grown to care for him. They barely knew each other. 

“Danton?” Sean said, pulling him from his thoughts. Danton liked the way he said his name- most people rushed through it. _Dan’n._ But Sean always took his time. “Hey, Danton, we’ve got to run but,” he climbed to his feet from the low chair with a soft grunt, “I’ll be back around first thing next week, alright?” 

“That sounds great,” Danton said, and he knew his excitement at that prospect was written all over his face. “I’ll look forward to it.” 

“Okay,” Sean was flushed. “Me too.”

✿✿✿

“Hey there,” Sean said by way of announcement, as he shouldered his way through the front door.

It was pouring down rain outside, a real washout kind of day. Danton didn’t mind them, usually. It meant less customers, which was a downside, but there was something warm and cozy about fixing some hot tea and listening to the rain beat against the windows. 

Sean seemed to bring in the sunshine in with him. “I figured I’d come by and say hello,” he said cheerfully. 

“I’m glad you did,” Danton said, coming around to meet Sean halfway. He’d gotten much more comfortable around him. “Where’s your partner in crime?” he asked, when he noticed a very distinct lack of Amelia.

“Oh, she’s hanging out with my buddy Anders today.” 

“Your _buddy_?” Danton asked, skeptical. 

“Yep, he’s great with kids. Like, she probably likes hanging out with him better than she likes hanging out with me,” Sean laughed. 

There was no Bruins game to discuss. Danton was glad to see Sean again, of course, but-

“Is, uh-” He tugged on his hair out of habit. “Is there something I can help you with?” 

Sean looked around, as if to see if there was anyone else in the store. “Are you busy?”

Danton shook his head, and then jerked his head towards some chairs near the back. They might as well sit down if they were going to visit. 

Sean sat next to him, looked in his eyes, then at the ground. He was nervous, that much was for sure.

“Everything okay?” He didn’t want to ask. He didn’t want for anything to be not okay, and by asking, there would be the possibility that things weren’t but at this point-

“Okay. Yes. I just.” Sean took a deep breath. “I just wanted to talk to you about some stuff.” 

Things Danton was not good at: talking about ‘stuff.’ But for Sean-

“Of course. Yes.” He tried to give him a reassuring look.

“So. Uhm,” He cleared his throat. “I don’t really know how to get into this,” he admitted.

Well, neither did Danton, but- “Well, start somewhere, you can work it out as you go.” 

Sean nodded as he picked at a hangnail. “Okay. So, uh, full disclosure, Amelia isn’t my daughter. Well. Shit.” Sean sighed. “She’s my sister’s kid. But, uh, she lives with me now.”

Danton nodded. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say about that.

He swallowed. “I wasn’t really expecting all of this to happen? When Amelia first came to live with me, I was a mess. Like, I’m still a mess, but I’m talking about…” He laughed to himself. “I didn’t cook? I warmed stuff up, and I could do, like, Hamburger Helper.” He shrugged. “It’s been weird, because obviously I don’t play as many video games anymore, and also some of my friends were really freaked out by the situation, which is understandable, I guess.” Sean rolled some gravel underneath his sneaker. “It’s hard to explain. Amelia already knew to call me Sean when everything happened, but she’s so little that-” His voice became thick and he cleared his throat. “She’s started calling me Dad. You know, kids don’t really know. But it was like it hit me, that I’m going to be her dad for the rest of her life. So I’ve been trying to turn my life around.” Sean caught his eye, looking like he was waiting for him to throw him out of the store. “And so I was like, fuck, we should get some plants in the house, you know?”

Danton found himself speechless. The picture of Sean he’d carefully crafted in his daydreams was falling away as quickly as he’d dreamt it. It wasn’t any worse, it was just different now. 

“Then I meet you, and like, I dunno, you’re-” 

He desperately did not want to know what Sean thought of him.

“You’re kinda perfect, and I keep thinking about you, and the more I spend time with you the more I like you.” His face was scarlet, and he was looking right at Danton now. 

“I just tell you all this because. God, this is crazy.” Sean half-whispered to himself. “It would only be fair to you to know the whole situation before I ask you out.”

“What?” Danton blurted out. His mind was totally blank.

Sean’s face turned to panic. “I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no. I am-” Shit. “I mean I’m-” Danton pushed a hand through his hair and made himself take a deep breath. “I’m really- I think you’re great. I’m really flattered.” 

“Oh, seriously?” Sean said, shocked. 

This situation was so funny that he could’ve burst into tears. Really? Sean being the one surprised that he had interest in him? 

“But that’s a lot to think about. So.” 

Sean nodded and bit his lip. “I understand. I knew it was a long shot.” 

“Let me call you. On Wednesday,” Danton said. He took Sean’s hand on impulse. “And tell you when to pick me up.” 

Sean let out a shaky breath- half laugh, half sigh of relief. “Probably gonna have to bring Amelia with me, just so you know.” 

“Well duh,” Danton squeezed his hand. “She’s invited.”

✿✿✿

They went out for ice cream that Wednesday. All three of them ordered a kid’s cup of Dirt and Worms.

Danton and Sean talked about everything- about sports, about their childhood, about their dreams for what’s next. 

They went on dates the next week, and the next week, and the next. They found out very quickly that neither one of them were perfect, but they were a lot less lonely together. 

And Sean would soon have a ridiculous amount of plants in his home.

**Author's Note:**

> just getting back on the fic horse, so to speak.
> 
> thanks for reading :-)
> 
> comments n kudos are appreciated as always
> 
> find me on tumblr @fridgefishwrites


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